Why we will never know the true cost of Katrina in lives...

[txaslftist]

...
As rescuers become "recoverers", and body counts rise slowly but inexorably toward what will eventually become known as the "total casualties" count, factors on the ground (and in the water) around New Orleans ensure that we will never truly know the cost of this catastrophe in human lives.

Decomposition has been taking place since the first days the hurricane hit, of course. In addition to the force of decomposition, there is depredation, the devouring of the bodies of the dead by alligators, catfish, dogs, rats and other natural scavengers. Some bodies inevitably will be lost in this process. Many other bodies have doubtless been swept into waterways or carried into the murky depths of Lake Ponchartrain or into the Mississippi. They will not be counted.

There is ongoing death, caused by starvation and disease as some of the "holdouts" in New Orleans succumb to either to toxicity of the water filling the city or the predation of neighbors in the areas of the city that are "nogo-gunfire" zones. The casualties of this "after-action" will confuse the count of the dead, as they are not really Katrina casualties, but casualties of factors that go beyond the Hurricane.

There are the dead who lie in the shattered remains of homes that have been destroyed and moved throughout the Gulf Coast, bodies that will never be identified.

In addition to the factors above, there is a great difference between the dead of this catastrophe and that of, say 9-11. The population of the Twin Towers was a fairly discernable group. If your loved one was supposed to be working there and did not return home; and you did not hear from the person for a month, you could presume death, despite the lack of a body. In New Orleans, the population was diverse and in constant flux, making a true count of population at best a guess.

If someone comes up missing now, it may be that they are simply resettled in some new community, have abandoned their family or are among the missing dead. In New Orleans there will be many people who are simply "missing". These will not be included among the dead, although they may actually be dead.

Remember this when the government and FEMA come at you with body counts. Whatever count they come up with will be lower than the actual death toll. Remember that they know this when they try to exclude the press from recovery efforts.

Government is notorious for inflating the body count of the dead when speaking of, for example, enemy killed in action (most notoriously in Vietnam, but certainly in all wars). Understand that they will understate the body counts when is suits them as well.

[liberal N proud]

1. I agree with your easement.

It would just be nice if we could trust them with the information to the point that they don't deflate the numbers just to cover their asses.
Every time there is a natural disaster and we come through it with minimal loss of life I rejoice and the same here, the fewer lost is what I pray for but I also want to have a good idea of the actual loss so we can mourn them.

[txaslftist]

5. That's why I was disturbed that FEMA was counting the bodies...

...Doesn't the rest of the country see what a conflict of interest that is?

[leveymg]

2. This is important. Should be frontpage. Kick

[Angry Girl]

3. Spot on! To think anything else is NAIVE!

Nightweed's Hurricane Katrina Aid Organizations

[txaslftist]

6. That's why we should oppose any effort to keep cameras out.

...from the recovery process. We cannot trust FEMA to police themselves.

[Benhurst]

4. Recommended. NT

:bounce:

[bvar22]

7. I agree, with one minor exception.

The Mississippi River levees are intact, so bodies won't be washed into the Missippi River.
They may be thrown in by those wishing to hide the real body count.
Bodies WILL be washed into the Gulf of Mexico through the Rigolets Pass from Lake Pontchatrain by tidal action.

[magnetism]

8. Hasn't the Lake Pontchatrain levee been blocked for days?

How will bodies be washed away if the water level is not above the levee walls? The water is contained within the city.

Sorry. Just not understanding.

[Virginian]

9. They will be pumped into the lake.

There was talk of this on one of the news stations. The pumps get clogged with debris from the hurricane, dead animals and body parts of those who perished in the floods.

It was a gruesome report, but aren't they all. I count my blessings that they aren't talking about someone I loved and my heart goes out to those who have lost a grandmother or a sibling or any other friend or relative. :cry:

[starroute]

10. There should be figures for both the dead and the missing

That's done in most disasters -- there's no reason except politics not to do it here.

Give or take a few of the most hardcore homeless, there have to be records of all the dead. Welfare rolls. Social Security. Voting registrations. Drivers' licenses. Payroll tax withholding records. Bank records. Insurance records.

Nobody in the government or private business is going to just let those people evaporate without finding out whether or not they're alive. They're going to be tracking them down and getting determinations.

We need to raise a stink *right now* -- maybe with a catchy slogan, like "Let The Names of Those Who Perished Be Known" -- about arriving at the most accurate possible public list of the dead and missing within, say, the next six months.

Anybody want to start a campaign?

[applegrove]

11. We will know. There are private databases consolidating all the

"missing" messages as we speak. Unless Karl Rove was conducting "exit polls" as people evacuated... the numbers will have to match.

Relax.

The worst case estimate was 60,000 casualties if a category 5 hit NO and at the same time storm surge occurred. The houses in NO were not nearly all flattened. The flood occurred from levee break with lake Ponchartrain.

There was more time to get to higher ground.

So already the worst case scenario has not occurred. Believe it or not. We will be lucky, very lucky, if the number stays around a few thousand.

Let's hope for the best.